LAKSAMANA.Net, October 23, 2003 11:58 PM
Kopassus Chief on Trial for Priok Massacre
Laksamana.Net - Army Special Forces (Kopassus) chief Major General Sriyanto
Muntarsan on Thursday (23/10/03) went on trial for gross violations of human rights
over the slaughter of Muslim protesters at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port 19 years ago.
Sriyanto was operations chief of the North Jakarta Military Command when soldiers
under his command opened fire on a crowd of about 1,500 unarmed protesters in front
of North Jakarta Police headquarters on the night of September 12, 1984.
Exactly how many people were killed in the massacre is unclear. Last month, the trial
opened of an Army captain and 10 low-ranking military officers accused of murdering
at least 14 people and attempting to murder more.
But some human rights groups have claimed 400 people were killed, with the corpses
secretly trucked away and buried in unmarked mass graves. Others have said
corpses were put in fishing nets and thrown into the sea.
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has said at least 24
people were killed.
In September 1984, Muslims in Tanjung Priok, one of the poorest areas of Jakarta and
well known for the Islamic fervor of its residents, had spoken out against then
president Suharto's policy that required all political, social and religious organizations
to adopt the Pancasila state ideology as their founding principle.
Many Muslim groups felt they were being ordered to place Pancasila above Islam.
Others felt Pancasila was being redefined to mean absolute loyalty to the corrupt
Suharto regime.
The demonstration outside North Jakarta Police headquarters was held after
authorities detained four Muslim clerics for "subversion" due to their criticism of
Suharto's policies.
Prosecutors accused Sriyanto of crimes against humanity for ordering his troops to
fire into a crowd of protesters without first firing warning shots.
The indictment said the "systematic and general attack" was a crime against
humanity that "intended directly to murder civilians".
"As an operational officer, the defendant did not stop his men from carrying out gross
human right violations," prosecutor Darmono was quoted as saying by the Associated
Press.
He told Central Jakarta District Court that shortly before troops fired the first shots,
Sriyanto had shouted to the crowd: "Disperse or we will shoot you."
Scores of Kopassus soldiers were trucked to the courtroom and provided a strong
show of support for their leader as the charges were read out.
The indictment against Sriyanto alleges that that at least 10 people were killed and
many more wounded.
Sriyanto, now aged 52, could face the death penalty if found guilty of responsibility for
the massacre. He is the 14th and apparently final defendant to go on trial in the case.
Other high-ranking suspects already on trial for the massacre are former North Jakarta
Military Command chief Major General (retired) Rudolf Butar-Butar, and Major General
(retired) Pranowo, who was head of the Jakarta Military Police in 1984.
Many human rights activists have said former military chief Benny Murdani and former
vice president Try Sutrisno should have been included on the list of suspects.
Murdani was commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces at the time of the bloody
killings, while Sutrisno was chief of the Jakarta Military Command.
Outside the court, Sriyanto strongly denied any wrongdoing in the Tanjung Priok
massacre and said he objected to the charges. "What I did, I believe, was all in
accordance with the procedures," he was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning
Herald.
Sriyanto was to have made an official visit to Australia earlier this month, but the trip
was canceled due to the controversy over his status as a suspected violator of human
rights.
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